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Following the archtype poll, Id like to share the feeling i got from AoC beta this las 5 months, with a DAoC perspective as its the game we all played and loved (till Mythic decided to ruin it)
Soldier archtypes: all of 'em share the soldier feats tree and can swap btwn a defensive stance (+100% defense with dmg dealing penalty) or frenzy stance (+60% dmg with dmg taken penalty). There is no GCD (Global Cooldown ala WoW) here, you can swap stances while doing other stuff.
- Guardian (GD) = Armsman. Pretty straight and balanced class. They wear full armor (plate), can use shield+sword or polearms. They have 2 different stances (hi WoW) but in AoC the combos arent limited by the stance but by the weapons you weild. You can guess what kind of weapon set and stance is used to dps and what is for tanking. In PvP theyr rock solid vs pure dps classes like barbies or assasins, and are very inmune to knockbacks and stuns due to feats and armor ratings.
- Conqueror (CQ) = Mercenary+Paly/Skald. Like the guardian, they have 2 different stances (dmg or defense), but they got to choose btwn DW or 2H. They wear heavy armor (chain) and SHOULD be the dps offtank with nice grp chants (there are end regen, mana regen and some good +dmg grp buffs ala EB/Haste). Iirc the 2H line of feats is more orientated to CC and defense (stun, knockback, snare, improving defense chants) while the DW line is more the dps line. In pvp they have been crippled during all beta due to low dmg ratios on its combos and crap auras. They got love each patch, and last one they got a big boost in the form of +dmg in combos and 360º attack combos (pbaoe combo rawr!) while some of the auras have been boosted a lot (iirc the fire proc 4hrs buff)
- Dark Templar (DT) = Reaver. They wear heavy armor (chain) and either shield+sword or 2H. The class is build around debuffs and lifetaps. Cant say much about it cuz i havent gone far into testing it, but among the soldier archtypes, DT is the best one for PvE.
Priests archtype: the healing dudes. In AoC, heals need 100% LoS, meaning that target must be in a 180º CAE in front of you with nothing blocking sight (except enemies or other players ofc). Also, in AoC, there are few burst heals, and in general, all healing is more effective on allies than on the healer himself. They also are the buffing archtype (with diferent buffs per class)
- Priest of Mitra (PoM) = Healer. The pure healer class of the game. They have more burst heals than the other 2 classes and are also gifted with good CC that can be improved via feats (knockbacks, stuns, roots...). They can also nuke with holly dmg, but thats secondary. Among the priests, they are the weakest and more prone to take dmg due to soft armor, but as you can guess theyr a must in every PvP grp and high lvl PvE.
- Tempest of Set (ToS) = Prenerf Clerics. Atm they have outstanding single nukes and AoE nukes. They can wear light armor and shields (meaning they can actively block) and while they dont have the healing and CC power of PoMs, they have good HoTs and some buffs and heals. I might be wrong on the CC part tho.
- Bear Shaman (BS) = Warden/Friar. The best armored of the priests. Theyr based around 2H weapons and HoTs (and pbaoe heals/buffs iirc). In PvE, Ive seen BS solo elite mobs / bosses. Like wardens they need a lot of time to do so but ... In PvP, they do nice as secondary tank, irc they have 1 knockback and some good dmg combos, i'd say theyr role would be more off-healer/resser joining the melee train. One of those classes that if well played it makes ppl shout for nerfs
Rogues: the stealthy lads. In AoC all classes have stealth, but rogues can move faster in stealth, all theyr of-stealth attacks have dmg bonus, and they are harder to perceive (all classes in AoC have the "Perception" ability, which is mainly a roll check vs the hiding ability of the rogue). They struggle vs soldiers, mages are their meat.
- Assasin (AS) = Infil/NS/SB. They wear cloth armor so as you can guess theyr paper thin, if they take dmg, they take a lot. On the other hand, theyr the class with the highest SINGLE target dps. They can only use DW daggers and are built similar than wow rogues as feats trees concern. BUT, unlike in wow, there is no stunlock or other **** avaible for 'em. In fact, i think they barelly have 1 snare. In PvE they struggle if they pull more than 1 mob, or if they get aggro from mobs, and in PvP theyr wild cards: if you get the jump of a mage hes dead meat, but if you make a mistake you have a free ticket to the nearest spawn point.
- Ranger (RG) = Scouts. And yes, only scouts. Why? Because they wear medium armor and shield+sword. They are famous from the PvP teaser cuz at that moment bow dmg was broken so they were able to 1shot even guardians. Atm, theyr in btwn and affected by the nerf bat. In melee theyr like scouts, period.
In PvP, you have to bear in mind, that atm the code needs fixing, this goes aswell for all ranged classes. You can stand on top of a keep wall, and only be able to shoot/nuke at ppl right under you (like if the game took the vertical distance as range too), its pretty obvious this will get fixed, but as you can imagine, atm, rangers are the most affected class.
- Barbarians (Barbies
) = Zerkers/BMs. Although theyr labeled as rogue class, they are the less stealth relying. They can wear light armor and are currently build around dps. The DW line is the more raw dps one, more focused in single target dps and anti CC, atm it lacks somethings like an snare. The 2H line is more focused around CC (2 stuns + 1 knockback) and aoe dmg (all 2H have increased splash dmg), and I'd say is more suit for solo play.Mages: the nuking boyz. Im seriously worried about magic in PvP atm. Theres the range poor coding issue, and moreover, atm it seems magic dmg on player is lower than i expected. It takes 6-9 nukes to take down a player depending on the class, but at the same time, a mage can be easily 2-3 shot by a barbarian e.g.
- Necromancer (Necro) = Cabalist. Its dmg is based around multiple kinds of stacking dots. They also have a very nice channeled pbaoe tho with slow pulses. They have 8 points to spare in pets, each kind of pets costing different poitns from 1 point of the lessen minions, to 4 points of the nuking pets. Sadly, the current state of the pets make 'em be more of an additional dot than a source of noticiable dmg. Ah! And there is no tank pets here, pets do not take aggro even if you send em to attack 1st.
- Demonologist (Demon) = Chanter. In theory, the dps nuker of the game. In theory, cuz last patch nerfed em good, both in dmg and adding weird cooldowns on some spells. They have a single pet which provide very nice grp bufs (such as dmg absorption e.g) but as with necro pets, its damage is nothing. The demo has some good aoe nukes and bolts. The lighting feats tree is more focused on electrical spells with some CC spells added here (a knockback, a channeling snare+dd ala heretic, and a CAE spell with a % to do an area knockback). The fire line is more focused on aoe dmg. Demos also have a baseline aeroot (10secs) and 5,5secs insta stun.
- Herald of Xotli (HoX) = Heretic / Mauler. An Hybrid mage/warrior. They wear cloth (but with some abs selfbuffs) and 2H and their class trait is the ability of going into "vendo" mode. The HoX turns into a demon with a buff in dmg/haste/abs and pbaoe dmg. The only spells they use are low range CAEs and snare iirc. In PvP most ppl tended to ignore 'em till some testers begun to show that a well played HoX cuz eat alive easily any class. It has some nasty dmg combos and a charge ability ala wow warrior. Very fun class, only tried one to 23 (they struggle till they get the abs buff) and not in pvp.
